Send us a text In this special episode of The Great Antidote, Amy Willis of Liberty Fund takes the mic to interview Juliette Sellgren, the voice behind the show. Together, they reflect on the evolution of the podcast—from its early days to the hundreds of guests it has featured—and how Juliette herself has grown in the process. They talk about what…

Send us a text What happens when people stop trusting rules—and start rewriting them? In this episode, we are joined by economist Edward Lopez about the life and legacy of James M. Buchanan, the Nobel Prize-winning founder of public choice economics. We begin by unpacking Buchanan’s biography and intellectual roots: what shaped his worldview, who i…

Send us a text What makes some states thrive while others trap people in place? And what does it really mean to be free to move, grow, and flourish? In this episode, I talk with economist Justin Callais about the deep connections between personal fulfillment, economic mobility, and institutional quality. We begin with the personal: why real change …

Send us a text Remember the Amazon HQ2 frenzy? When nearly every U.S. state competed to become Amazon’s next home, offering billions in tax breaks and incentives? I do — I grew up right next door to Crystal City, Virginia, the site Amazon ultimately chose. In this episode, I talk with economist Peter Calcagno about targeted economic incentives—the …

Send us a text What if modern economics has overlooked what truly makes us human? In this episode, Bart Wilson joins us to explore humanomics—an approach to economics that reintroduces meaning, culture, and moral judgment into how we understand economic behavior. We talk about how economists miss the mark by assuming too much about how rational we …

Send us a text What is it like to grow up under a dictatorship? The speakers of The Dissident Project don’t have to wonder — they’ve lived it. And they’ve escaped. In this episode, Grace Bydalek joins us this week to discuss her work with The Dissident Project, which brings survivors of authoritarian regimes into American high schools to share thei…

Send us a text Ryan Streeter is the executive director of the Civitas Institute at the University of Texas at Austin. Today, he tells us about his time in the intersection of think tanks, government, and academic communities. We talk about cities, the importance of mobility and growth, how to foster those characteristics, skepticism of government, …

Send us a text We’ve talked about objectivism before on the podcast, but that was fairly introductory. Today, for the first time ever, I host two guests on the podcast to discuss the limitations of objectivism and where it fails to depict the good life. We talk about how they got interested in Rand’s thought, how they philosophically dealt with wor…

Send us a text Join us today for a fun conversation about all things government, UK and US, with Lord Daniel Hannan of Kingsclere! Lord Hannan is a member of the House of Lords. Today, we talk about how the U.K.’s legislative is structured, what is up with executive power, the importance of the West and cohesion on the freedom front, and the idiocy…

Send us a text Bob Ewing is the founder of the Ewing School and hosts a Substack called Talking Big Ideas (go check it out). He has also gifted me most of the great books that I’ve read. Today, we talk about how he got started and how many of the great lessons in life are learned. We talk about counter-intuitive ideas, how to find the answers to th…

Send us a text We talk a lot about civil society and the importance of local, communal networks which hold us up when we’re down and inspire us to be good, striving members of society. But what does that actually look like? How do civil institutions get built, and what does it take? Today, I’m excited to welcome Rachel Ferguson to the podcast. She …

Send us a text Jo Jensen is the founder of MovieGoer and she’s currently the SVP of Digital and Entertainment Strategy at Touchdown Strategies, a PR firm. and is an Aspen Institute Civil Society Fellow. Since all fellows have ventures over there, she’s currently writing a book called “America Has a Girlfriend Problem.” Today, we talk about the anxi…

This week we check in with two guest at the opposite ends of their respective seasons. Softball Head Coach Chelsea Spencer gives insight to the start of their season. Then Women's Basketball Senior Marta Suarez talks about the final regular season game and looking forward to a postseason run. Audio transcript here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1…

Send us a text What is Universal Basic Income (UBI) and why is it so popular among economists and freedom lovers relative to other types of poverty policy solutions? What does it even mean to “solve a problem” or to “learn” in the social sciences? Join us today to explore the answers to these two questions and many more. Today, I am excited to welc…

Send us a text Welcome back. Continuing our ongoing exploration of what it means to be an individual living in a liberal society, today I am happy to host Charlotte Thomas to talk to us about what it means to learn and the importance of the liberal arts. Join us to find out what it truly means to be “educated” and how to do it. A mix of personal, i…

Send us a text The most common statistic cited regarding marriage and relationships in the United States is that the 50% of all marriages end in divorce. Another one that is gaining traction is that more Americans than ever before will end up unmarried and alone. Nobody likes these statistics. How did we get from the 60s, hairdos and stay at home m…

This week we talk with two Cal student athletes. From the Swimming and Diving team Mary-Ambre Moluh. The Freshman was a member of team France in the 2024 Summer Olympics and now is having success in the ACC. Plus Women's Gymnast Ella Cesario. The all around performer discusses the teams success coming into the Big Meet vs Stanford. Text transcript …

Send us a text Thomas Jefferson was a complicated figure. Essential to the start of our country and the university I attend, he is impossible to ignore. Yet, he held slaves, and at the same time said “all men are created equal.” What’s up with that?! Yet, we need to be able to talk about him. We also need to be able to acknowledge the contributions…

Send us a text Trade is all the rage these days. Or, at least, raging about trade is. Today, we unpack what trade and free trade are, and how to talk about it. We also address the abundance of lawyers in trade policy. Douglas Irwin is a professor of economics at Dartmouth College and the author of several books including Clashing Over Commerce and …

Send us a text Today, I am excited to host Anna Claire Flowers to discuss F. A. Hayek and the mesocosmos. The mesocosmos is a fancy way to describe all the social groupings on the spectrum between the extremes of individualism and society. Think families, neighborhoods, farmers markets, firms, and universities. We talk about the importance of chara…

The first episode of 2025 is a conversation with Men's Basketball player Rytis Petraitis. He tells the story of the importance of basketball in his family life, and his time at the Air Force Academy. Audio transcription available here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1uASwd2UMVioEqjHILXJVuTLxpPzndsNv/view?usp=share_link See Privacy Policy at https:…

Send us a text Welcome back! Happy New Year! Glad to be back! Come one, come all! Eric Leeper is the Paul Goodloe McIntire Professor in Economics at the University of Virginia. He also is a visiting scholar at the Mercatus Center at GMU. Today, we talk about inflation. He explains to us how inflation theory has evolved and how we forgot about the r…

This week we chat with Women's Basketball Head Coach Charmin Smith after the 9-1 start for the team including a home win over ranked Alabama. Plus a conversation with Traver's Family Head Football Coach Justin Wilcox that includes the transfer portal, new Offensive Coordinator, bowl game and more. Audio Transcript Here: https://drive.google.com/fil…

Recap the dramatic come from behind win over Stanford in the 127th Big Game with interviews from Justin Wilcox and Big Game Hero Jonathan Brady. Audio Transcript Here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Ayqx8EzehSOK2QMwg191MQdgyG7m5tSZ/view?usp=share_link See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.c…

Send us a text Not often do we find people who make the case for how race, liberty, and equality belong together. Even less often do we find them making arguments in the height of racially and economically troubled times. And EVEN LESS do we find audio clips of them doing so. These people are inspiring. They stand up against the currents of the tim…

Send us a text Adam Smith was a man who read the Stoics. He liked them, too, talking them up in The Theory of Moral Sentiments, particularly in the section on grief. Then he lost two of his closest relations (old timey, right?), David Hume and his mother. These world-shaking events caused him to reevaluate what he said about grief in TMS and change…

This week we chat with Travers Family Head Football Justin Wilcox following the Bears first ACC victory against Wake Forest. Plus a conversation with PhD. Marissa Nichols, Associate Athletics Director; Director, Cameron Institute, discussing how the Cameron Institute helps to impact the lives of Cal student athletes. Audio transcript available here…

Send us a text This year’s Nobel Prize winners in economics are Daron Acemoglu, Simon Johnson, and James Robinson, who wrote on the importance of inclusive institutions to economic growth. But what on earth are ‘inclusive institutions’ and how do they differ from exclusive ones? Inclusive institutions are norms, either written or unwritten, about t…

Send us a text Picture a policy conversation, perhaps in Washington, about national security. Who’s sitting around the table? It might be the President, national security advisors, military personnel, or generals, but not economists. And yet, national security is often used as a reason to intervene into the economy. At the mention of national secur…

Send us a text How do you teach about a man who does not fit neatly into a box? Hayek is one such man, and today, we tackle the difficult task of putting him in a box. We conclude that we cannot put someone like F. A. Hayek into boxes such as “economist” or “philosopher” or “political theorist”, because he did it all. How and when do you teach the …

This week hear from Travers Family Head Football Coach Justin Wilcox and QB Fernando Mendoza following the difficult stretch for the Bears. Full Audio Transcript Available Here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1CBFY5mgdm1kpa9n8Ie2Z-19XjoNzq3WB/view?usp=share_link See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https…

Send us a text It’s often said that if you want to get to know someone, you should look through their garbage. Now, I don’t recommend this method of getting to know someone (it’s kind of gross). But biographers often have the luck of getting to know the people they study by looking through their stuff- that stuff not being actual garbage. For examp…

This week hear from travers Family Head Football Coach Justin Wilcox and get ready for the ACC road matchup with Pitt. Plus a conversation with Women's Soccer Head Coach Neil McGuire. Full audio transcript here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1WPT-2274QzHkdevwyrJMT-V0q58VxMFG/view?usp=share_link See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and …

Send us a text The title of this episode might confuse you: what on earth do Adam Smith and F. A. Hayek have to say about social justice? A surprising amount, given how much we talk about it! Smith makes a big point of critiquing men of pride and vanity. What happens when those ultimately negative aspects of humanity go too far, into the territory …

Send us a text The month of October 2024 marks the 50th anniversary of F. A. Hayek winning the Nobel Prize. Winning such a prize is obviously a big deal, but someone wins one every year, so what’s the big deal about this guy? Well. Hayek’s contributions to the field of economics are significant because they spoke to more than simply economics. Spon…

Host, Libby Johnson, will guide you through a spiriutal practice that focuses on peace. Through prayer, lectio divina style reading, and question prompts to ponder, this episode will lead you in a devotional style practice of gathering your scattered thoughts and calming your anxious heart. This is an episode you can return to again and again as a …

Send us a text Do you ever take a moment to think about the fact that Americans, the people of the land of the free, spent 13 years under Prohibition? Did you know that Americans used to seriously “drink like a fish”? And no, I’m not talking about fraternity men in college. I’m talking about everyone, everywhere, from George Washington’s parties to…

Send us a text What does it actually mean to run a think tank, to create harmony within an office building full of idea-confident folk? Some have called the think tank a monastery, some have called it an academic social club, and some have even called it a policy incubator. What truly is it and how on earth do you lead one? Leading a think tank is …

Send us a text Even though I hope you’ve been avoiding the election news like I have (as you would the plague), admittedly, it’s hard to do. It’s like someone is blasting it outside your window at 5 AM. Or like a billboard outside your front door that you can’t help but see every time you step outside. Bummer. Fortunately, AEI’s wonderful Yuval Lev…

This week recap with Cal Football win on the road against Auburn with Travers Family Head Coach Justin Wilcox. Plus an interview with 2024 Paris Bronze medalist, and US Water Polo goal keeper, Adrian Weinberg. Audio Transcript Available Here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1SCPp5_giYwmLlu6CuIUSwYmY0qutlUo8/view?usp=share_link See Privacy Policy at…

Send us a text Growth is essential to human life. Always has been, always will be. From the moment we are born, we grow, and we continue to throughout our lives, whether that is physically, mentally, or otherwise. Societies grow too. But what is growth? Real growth is replicable, durable, and sustainable (and not in the sense that immediately comes…

This week the Cal Football team kicks off the 2024 season against UC Davis. Hear from Travers Family Head Football Coach Justin Wilcox and Linebacker Teddye Buchanan as they preview the game and the season. Full audio translation here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1wB2-7p3wi3SFiIA1z0YZBES-Qyz2Wy5G/view?usp=share_link See Privacy Policy at https:…

Send us a text Some questions are hard to ask. Some questions you don’t want to ask. Some questions are hard for you to hear the answers to. Like, how do you tell someone, politely, that they eat with their mouth open? Between a rock and a hard place, you know you gotta do it. You really don’t want to, but you know you can’t stand to watch it anymo…

Send us a text What does it mean for something to be ESG when two of those words are adjectives and one is a noun? I mean think about it. “Environmental, social, and governance” doesn’t really describe anything. It’s also a good example of cacophony. So can someone please explain what it means? Today, luckily, Paul Mueller, senior research fellow a…

Send us a text What’s in a price? Good question. How can you be “enslaved” to something like a price, to something that doesn’t eat, sleep, or breathe? Good question. What does it mean to wage a war against this inanimate enslaver? Good question. Join me today with Ryan Bourne, the R. Evan Scharf Chair for the Public Understanding of Economics at t…

Send us a text Michael Cannon is the Cato Institute’s director of health policy studies and it is his third time on the podcast. He has been on The Washingtonian’s list of most influential people for four years in a row. Today, we talk about why people think the American healthcare system is “free market” and the role of prices in determining healt…

Welcome to the ACC! On this episode we talk with Women's Gymnastics Head Coach Elisabeth Crandall-Howell and Director of Athletics Jim Knowlton. Both lend thoughts and perspective about officially joining the ACC. Audio Transcript Available Here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1yimuW81KmAGExULUV_O8f_sID9iLSd9e/view?usp=share_link See Privacy Polic…

Send us a text Charles Noussair is the Eller Professor of Economics at the University of Arizona and the Director of the Economic Science Laboratory. He also serves as the President of the Economic Science Association. Today, we talk about experimental economics, how it complements other types of economic research, and how economic experiments are …

Send us a text Sandra Peart is a Distinguished Professor of Leadership Studies and the President of the Jepson Scholars Foundation at the University of Richmond, as well as a coauthor of Towards an Economics of Natural Equals: A Documentary History of the Early Virginia School, with David Levy. She is also a distinguished fellow of the history of e…

Send us a text Daniel Di Martino is a PhD candidate in Economics at Columbia University and a graduate fellow at the Manhattan Institute—where he focuses on high-skill immigration policy. He also founded the Dissident Project to teach high school students about the evils of socialist regimes. Today we talk about his life in Venezuela and the econom…